(News Bulletin 247) – Wall Street should open slightly lower on Thursday in a climate that remains dominated by caution despite reassuring signals on the Credit Suisse file and the health of the American economy.
Half an hour before the opening, futures contracts on the main New York indices fell 0.1% to 0.4%, suggesting a start to the session in negative territory.
In Europe, Credit Suisse announced overnight that it would borrow up to 50 billion Swiss francs (about 50 billion euros) from the Swiss National Bank (SNB).
The support of the institution reassures investors on the possibility of containing the financial problems of the Swiss establishment, considered as a ‘systemic’ cog in the wheel of global finance.
‘The real question is whether the market recovery will continue, and especially if the securities of European banks will continue to rise,’ warns a trader.
The tumble of Credit Suisse shares on the Zurich Stock Exchange caused a wave of panic yesterday on European markets because of fears about possible repercussions on other banks.
US banking stocks with the most international exposure should benefit today from this easing of concerns about the health of the financial system.
US equity markets could also be supported by good economic statistics.
Import prices fell 0.1% in February, the latest indication of the disinflation process currently at work in the United States.
Registrations for unemployment benefits in the United States fell by 20,000 during the week of March 6, to settle at 192,000 against 212,000 the previous week.
Another welcome indicator, building permits and housing starts rebounded strongly in February, reflecting an improvement in the residential construction market
US investors are paying close attention to economic indicators as they could give them clues about the timing of future monetary tightening by the Federal Reserve, which will meet next week.
In the state, the indicators published this morning paint the picture of an economy that is heading for a ‘soft landing’ in growth, the ideal scenario from the point of view of investors.
On the bond front, the yield on 10-year Treasuries continued to fall towards 3.42%, which does not yet show any real return in risk appetite.
On the foreign exchange market, the dollar is losing ground against the euro, which is trading around 1.06 pending the announcements of the ECB, which will fall in a few minutes.
On the oil side, the April contract on American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) fell 0.6% to 67.1 dollars a barrel.
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